Step aside, Hammersmith Ghost. There were other specters who spooked Regency imaginations and inspired the popular press. Here are a few noteworthy examples: Queen Elizabeth I Here’s a phantom that must have haunted Napoleon’s nightmares in the early years of the 19th century while he was planning to invade England. In this 1803 print published…
Will you be dressing up this Halloween? If you love the simple elegance of a white ghost costume, you may want to hear about a Regency “ghost” who met an untimely and undeserved end. In late 1803 the residents of Hammersmith (which is now a part of Greater London but was then a small village…
September 29, 1829 An act of Parliament, at the request of Sir Robert Peel, created the Greater London Metropolitan Police Force, later known as Scotland Yard. The men, afterward nicknamed “bobbies,” were named after Sir Robert himself.
On the 1st of each month, Regency Fiction Writers publishes our FREE online newsletter, The Regency Reader, to anyone interested in Regency Fiction (1780-1840). The publication features author interviews, tidbits about the Regency era, and a listing of new titles from members and non-members. Members’ releases also appear here on the blog. Submit your September…
Michaelmas Day, celebrated next day on September 29, is a day rich in religious and secular traditions in British culture. It’s also called the Feast of Michael and All Angels, including the angels Gabriel and Raphael.
Mark your calendar! Our September Monthly Tea is this Friday, September 22, at 2pm ET (5 pm PT). Whether you write romance, mystery, fantasy, or some other subgenre of historical fiction, knowing when to stop researching and start writing is crucial to getting your novel on the page. In this talk, author and translator…
The host must be delighted by the turnout! I won’t be able to forget this when describing a crowded ball or reception! The clothing is particularly interesting. Compare the lady on the right in white (a demure debutante?) and the one on the left with the train (rather less respectable, I think). The description in…
This month Quizzing Glass chats with Heather Redmond, mystery author QC: What most interests you about the people of the Georgian/Regency era? It was a very dramatic era, with war, industrialization, royal drama, mad poets, scientific advances, and so much more! Those years seem to be an endless well for creatives. QC:Â When did you…
In my last post I discussed Beau Brummell’s sophisticated manner of dress, and what a contrast Brummell’s understated style was to the flashier styles worn by some of his contemporaries. While Brummell may have disapproved of their fashion sense, the men and women whose dress he criticized provided excellent fodder for the caricaturists of their…
There have always been and always will be dandies – men who follow fashion and take an active interest in how they present themselves to the world. However, the Regency produced one of the most influential and famous dandies of all time, George Bryan “Beau” Brummell.